Planning chiefs are accused of employing 'bullying' and 'intimidating' tactics in their crackdown on illegal extensions.

Campaigners claiming to represent more than 60 homeowners under the name Save our Homes say many of them have been left scared and confused by the council's 'hardline' tactics.

"The council insists it's engaging in negotiations but that's not what we're hearing," said SOH's co-ordinator Manu Tripathi.

"Many residents feel the council has not supported them or helped them through the process and on the contrary had an unhelpful approach, making the process quite ambiguous.

"Its approach appears to be quite intimidating and some people perceive it as bullying."

The number of prosecutions for illegal buildings has leapt from just one in 2004/5 under the old Labour council to 26 last year under the Tory-led coalition.

Hounslow Council, which has doubled the number of enforcement officers in the last two years and is currently urgently advertising for another, insists the crackdown is supported by the majority of residents.

A council spokesman said its enforcement officers always behaved 'professionally and with courtesy'.

Deputy council leader Mark Bowen this week responded to accusations its planning policy was rooted in racism by telling critics, including Labour group leader Jagdish Sharma, to produce evidence or shut up.

"Should anyone have any evidence that any policies are being applied in a discriminatory way such evidence [should be] submitted so it can be formally investigated," he wrote in a motion tabled at Tuesday's council meeting.